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Scioli was born in Villa Crespo, Buenos Aires. He spent his first years in a typical middle class home located at the corner of Corrientes and Humboldt. His grandfather ran an electrical hardware store, which over time grew into a store selling electrical appliances that was to become the family business. Scioli has described himself as a loyal man devoted to his stable and intimate circle, and an understanding but demanding father.

He is married to former model and entrepreneur Karina Rabolini and has a daughter called Lorena, who was accepted by Scioli as his daughter when she was 18 years old. Regarding this issue, he says, "It helped me to grow and to give me peace of mind. My relation with Lorena improved my life, and that’s why now I can also enjoy Father’s Day".

His interest in sports began at the Villa Crespo club. He took part in swimming, tennis, basketball and a form of badminton, representing his city in each. His passion for offshore powerboat racing took off when a friend invited him for a ride in a powerboat. Some time later he competed in his first Offshore Powerboat race in Mar del Plata, in which he finished last. "This made me very angry, so I decided to train until I started winning, and finally ended up as the world champion," he states.

Scioli started to compete in offshore powerboat racing in 1986 in 1987 he joined the Italian powerboat designer, builder and engineer Fabio Buzzi who ran FB Design, one of the most successful powerboat racing teams in the world.

On December 4, 1989 he lost his right arm in an accident whilst racing on the Paraná river in the 1000 km Delta Argentino race. A wave produced by an oil tanker is believed to have overturned his boat. A fitted prosthesis enabled Scioli to pursue his love of offshore powerboat racing.

Even with this handicap he won many offshore powerboat racing championships in various categories, In La Gran Argentina, a Fabio Buzzi designed FB 55, Daniel Scioli was a 3 times winner of the World Superboat USA Championship and captured 4 European titles, the hull was modified in 2000 into a long distance record setter, Scioli went on to set the Miami-Nassau-Miami record at an average of 100 mph.

In the field of business his activity was linked to the electrical appliances market. In 1991 the Swedish company Electrolux, which had left the Argentine market on account of the country’s instability, nominated him as the agent of its brand for Argentina. In 1994 Scioli encouraged the firm to re-establish in Argentina, an effort which gave rise to Electrolux Argentina, of which he became the director, a post he held until 1997.

Scioli's running mate, Alberto Balestrini, late Pres. Kirchner and Scioli celebrate the victory of the Scioli-Balestrini ticket in the 2007 race for the Governor of the Province of Buenos Aires, the nation's largest.

Scioli’s political career took off in 1997, when he decided to run for a seat in the House of Representatives on behalf of the Justicialist Party in the city of Buenos Aires. He won that election and on December 10 of that year he became a Deputy in the Argentine Congress. He was nominated president of the Sports Committee of the House for a two-year tenure, a nomination that was renewed for another two-year period on the basis of a unanimous vote. In the same year he retained his House seat in the October congress elections and remained in that position until 2005.

Having been re-elected as a Deputy in 2001, in December 2001 he became a minister as the Secretary of Sports and Tourism. In 2003 the formula Kirchner-Scioli running on the Frente para la Victoria ticket won the presidential election. Thus Scioli became Argentina’s Vice-President and the President of the country’s Senate.

"More important than to be on the left or on the right is to be at the center together with the people."

"In Argentina we work from the government to recover values and the family" (statement by Scioli to Pope Benedict XVI).[2]

"I’ve got my feet on the ground, many times this is what marks my difference from some politicians"

"I don’t like to cling to material goods. I had a beautiful motorboat and one day it turned over and sank, I had an apartment and it caught fire, I had a lot of things and lost them. My security lies in my inner strength, in my bond to the spiritual dimension".

"I like to look toward the future with faith, hope and optimism. I think that the misfortunes and adversity I have experienced have given me poise and assurance. They have prepared me to shoulder the responsibilities I now have"

"We have to double our efforts to generate the awareness that the family is of fundamental importance for the growth of the country".[3]

"We have to attain an overall recovery of the country. This goes beyond the economic aspect".[4]

"The Argentine woman deservedly takes up ever more space in the institutional and economic life of the country. In the Senate 40% of the seats are held by women and this shows in the quality of the debates we engage in, where economic questions are not the only important issues. Topics concerning the family, childhood and adolescence, health and education are gaining in importance".[5]

"To husband our soil certainly means to defend our investments in energy and agriculture. The great challenge ahead of us is to achieve that our rural areas be not only the source of foods, but of alternative and renewable energy. The encroachment of livable land on desert areas is a calamity that has a strong global impact. All of us who share this planet and its care-taking need to have a strong commitment to these principles".[6]